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Many in both India and Pakistan have united in condemnation of a deeply unsettling act by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after a video of him pulling a Muslim woman’s niqab during a public event went viral.

On Monday, at a government event in Patna, Kumar was seen presenting a certificate to an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) doctor, Nusrat Parveen. As Parveen stepped onto the stage, Kumar gestured for her to remove her niqab. Before she could respond — or consent — he reached out and pulled it himself, exposing her mouth and chin.

The moment appeared to catch Parveen off guard. Two men, including Bihar’s Home Minister Samrat Choudhary, half-heartedly attempted to stop Kumar, while others on stage laughed, treating the moment as an awkward joke rather than a violation.

The clip has sparked widespread outrage across India and Pakistan, with social media users, activists and commentators demanding an apology, as well as the resignation of the 74-year-old chief minister. For many, the incident has become less about one man’s lapse in judgment and more about the normalisation of disrespect toward Muslims in India.

Human Rights Council of Pakistan strongly condemned the “highly shameful, reprehensible, and inhumane action” of Kumar, demanding the Indian Government conduct an immediate, transparent and impartial investigation into this incident.

“This incident is not merely an insult to an individual but an open attack on human dignity, religious freedom, women’s personal autonomy, and fundamental human rights, which is unacceptable in any civilised, democratic, and so-called secular state”, it stated in their statement on X.

“The United Nations, General Assembly, and international human rights organisations take strong notice of this incident and demand accountability from India for the violation of religious freedom.

Furthermore, we demand that Indian authorities formally apologise to the affected woman at both personal and official levels and ensure robust legal and institutional measures to prevent such incidents in the future”, the council added.

Infuriated, Zaira Wasim, a former Indian actor, demanded an “unconditional apology” from Kumar.

“A woman’s dignity and modesty are not props to toy with”, she wrote.

Indian politician Priyanka Chaturvedi, commenting on the unfairness of the whole situation, said that she wouldn’t be surprised if Parveen were to say that “she is okay about it”, as she will be one facing consequences regardless.

Member of the Lok Sabha, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, called for an apology, labelling it an “indefensible” and “deeply disturbing” act.

He also highlighted that the CM should be stepping down from his role after this “erratic” behaviour, questioning his mental ability.

One does not need to belong to a certain religion to see the gravity of this misconduct. Users have been strongly condemning the act across many social media platforms, including X.

A user openly called it an “abuse of power”.

Another one echoed Wasim’s sentiment and highlighted that no authority has the “right to touch or humiliate a woman in the name of protocol or power.”

A user highlighted the blatant violation of Pareveen’s personal choice, calling it out the way it is: “inappropriate” and “shameful”.

Neitizens commented on DAWN’s post on Instagram, providing a breakdown of basic etiquette when interacting with a Hijabi woman for the uncultured.

Giving the CM examples from home to compare, users explained how it is like a man forcefully pulling off a Hindu woman’s sari — in the hopes of knocking some sense into those who are still unable to comprehend why this act is unacceptable.

Some also criticised Bollywood for focusing on anti-Pakistan movies, while their own country is treating Muslims disrespectfully.

Parveen was humiliated in front of 1283 AYUSH doctors during the distribution of appointment letters to various Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic and Unani practitioners.

Covering one’s face with a niqab is a personal choice that many Muslim women make for religious, cultural or personal reasons. Pulling off a woman’s niqab or hijab — particularly as a man, that too in public — is humiliating, invasive, and borders on harassment, one that sits squarely within the realm of everyday Islamophobia.

What makes the incident especially jarring is how casually it unfolded; not in a hostile street encounter, but on a formal stage, under state patronage, with laughter in the background.

While modern-day Bollywood films, like a user pointed out, are bent on villainising Pakistanis and Muslims, many Bollywood films in the past have also demonstrated why such acts are violent, and not benign. Films like My Name Is Khan have used similar imagery — a man forcibly removing a Muslim woman’s hijab — precisely to depict post-9/11 Islamophobia as something cruel and dehumanising. That a sitting chief minister appears not to recognise this distinction speaks volumes.

This does not negate the reality that, for some women, veiling can be imposed by family or societal pressure. But even that complexity does not grant anyone the right to violate a woman’s bodily autonomy. Least of all a political leader, whose position demands restraint, awareness and respect. Consent, not convenience or curiosity, is the only acceptable standard.